1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an antenna and access point mounting system and method for mounting an access point above a ceiling or on a wall surface of a building, and in particular, to such a system and method that includes a cover for protecting the antenna and supporting the antenna coaxial cables, and a freely movably mounting base plate for allowing the coverage area of the access point to be easily fine-tuned.
2. Background Art
With the advent of wireless LAN (local area networks) communication systems operating in the 2.4 GHz (gigahertz) range, which have been developed for both outdoor use, as well as indoor use in homes, office buildings and industrial complexes, the need for easily installed unitized antennas and access points has increased. In the 2.4 GHz range, coaxial cable length becomes a factor as the longer the coaxial cable becomes, the more signal loss incurred. While the individual antenna technology and the individual access point technology exist, the need for antenna and access point mounting systems remain.
The typical installation of wireless LAN 2.4 GHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) access point transceivers involves the placement of the access point and its antenna in an area to give the desired radio frequency coverage in the specific area. Many aftermarket antennas require separate mounting with longer coaxial cable runs and no firmly established mounting methodologies exit.
The ambiguity of mounting and installation methodologies results in radio frequency coverage less than desired or less than specified system parameters.
Some antenna designs are inherently fragile and in order to minimize the possibility of damage, a protective cover is installed over the antenna. This cover protects the antenna coaxial cables from lateral stress and shock that could cause antenna circuit board failure.
In the past, access points and their antennas were mounted in fixed locations and did not lend themselves to relocation in order to fine-tune an area of coverage.
Today, there are antenna technologies that embed antennas into or onto ceiling tiles. While this is certainly one method of attachment, the first is difficult, if not impossible to match ceiling tiles to a building or structure that has been erected and occupied for some time. Ceiling tiles discolor and cannot be matched. Furthermore, they are difficult to remove and relocate to another location for the purpose of fine-tuning a coverage area. The solution of penetrating the ceiling tile and mounting the antenna to the outside of the ceiling tile is another workable solution, but is time consuming, and messy especially if done at the customer location and again does not lend itself to easy relocation.
In a typical wireless LAN configuration, a transmitter/receiver (transceiver) device, called an access point or access point transceiver, connects to a wired network from a fixed location using standard input cabling. The access point receives, temporary stores, and then transmits data between the wireless LAN and the wired network infrastructure. The access point (or the antenna attached to the access point) is usually mounted high, but may be mounted essentially anywhere that is practical as long as the desired area of coverage is obtained.
A preliminary patentability search conducted in class 343, subclasses 713, 773, 890, 878, and 720 produced the following patents which appear to be relevant to the present invention: Hightower et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,277, issued Jan. 4, 1994; Hightower et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,966, issued Mar. 5, 1996; Mailandt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,217, issued Apr. 8, 1997; Canora et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,583, issued Jul. 7, 1998; Gietema et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,503, issued Apr. 24, 2001; Bateman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,525, issued Oct. 23, 2001; and Stickland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,766, issued Apr. 9, 2002.
Nothing in the known prior art, either singly or in combination, discloses or suggests the present invention.